[greggman]

I program because I love it. It's my hobby. I quit my job a 14 months ago. 5 months ago I thought of an idea I wanted to pursue. I've been spending 8-12 hours a day 5-6 days a week on it since then.

I'm sorry you apparently picked a career you don't get real enjoyment from. Those of us that picked something we love don't see doing it a lot as a negative. We see it as just that, doing something we love.

[MrRage]

Good to hear that you're happy and your choices have worked out, sincerely. But kindly please consider the following points:

1. You may not have worked enough to burn out. If you're in your 20's you can work longer too. If you don't have a family you can work longer.

2. Not everyone can make the career choices you got to make. I do program and enjoy it but it's way to risky for me personally to quit my corporate job. Please consider you might have some privileges others don't have or less responsibilities than other people.

3. For those of us who toil in the corporate world, depending on the situation, it is just foolish to spend more than the required 40 hours (except for limited crunch time). Why should I slave away and get no reward? I get paid the same. Consider that corporation might take advantage of those who do enjoy programming to do more work for less.

Anyway I wish you all the luck on your idea. :)

[BSousa]

Let me know in 10 years, when you are 50 pounds heavier, have a distressed family life, stress, high blood pressure and back at a 9-5 doing crud apps for insurance companies how it feels then.

If we take the higher end of you statement (12*6) you are working 72 hours a week. Seriously, you aren't that productive (Studies show this) so you are just 'wasting' time anyway, if you don't have to be in an office to 'pretend' to work those hours, then get the fuck away from the screen

[rip747]

working on your own stuff for 8-12 hours a day 5-6 days a week is WAAAAY different then working 8-12 hours a day 5-6 days a week for someone else and not getting compensated. Your comparison is a complete miss.

[hack_edu]

Oh to be young again...

[greggman]

I'm 49

[oldmanjay]

You're getting voted down by people who assume that your experience can't possibly be real because it isn't their experience, but I feel the same as you.

There are dozens of us!

[praxulus]

I think the downvotes were triggered by this:

>I'm sorry you apparently picked a career you don't get real enjoyment from

Enjoying something for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, is definitely still "real enjoyment."

[MrRage]

I submit, as argued in my other comment, that greggman is the one assuming his/her experience should take priority.

If you are able to work years on end at 70 hours a week then more power to you. But that doesn't mean other people who do burn out are to blame or inferior b/c they didn't follow in greggman's footsteps or didn't choose "a career you don't get real enjoyment from".

Moreover, seriously consider this: Is working 72 hours for just 5 months enough to burn someone out? Especially if your young and responsibility free, wouldn't it take a lot longer?

[greggman]

You're reading a lot into my reply. I'm replying to the parent to my comment which was arguably judgemental in saying "y'all look crazy" and "spending extra hours at work with no overtime pay is absurd" and "Your industry needs a huge cultural overhaul"

My response is to that.

My response is even in line with the article this is linked about. That message paraphrased is "If you like what you're doing you won't get burnt out. If you're getting burnt out you're probably doing stuff you don't like doing."

I know plenty of other people in my camp. People with 2 or 3 kids that some how manage to find time to code and learn new tech after work because they just love it. As concrete examples, one of them is designing 3D software to generate STL files for 3D parts so he can design toys for his kids. Another just got both an Amazon Fire and has already created one tiny app on it and now just got his Oculus Rift 2 and is playing with it. How he finds the time with three kids I have no idea but he posts is progress regularly on his FB.

If you don't want to work a lot I have no issues with that. What I have issue with is people calling me "..crazy" for doing something I enjoy. If you don't enjoy it fine. Do something else. If I enjoy it let me enjoy it!

[normloman]

You're not crazy for doing what you love. You're crazy for thinking you can cram in every single thing that you love, plus rest, eating, and excercise, into one day, and not collapse at some point.

"How he finds the time with three kids I have no idea but he posts is progress regularly on his FB."

Maybe he doesn't find the time.

[rhizome]

Is the thing you love supporting you financially?